Who believes in Sam Altman? | | Results TechCrunch

In May 2023, the CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, was sworn in and testified before Congress about the artificial intelligence movement. Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana heard his thoughts on advanced licensing and asked if Altman might be qualified to run the agency that oversees AI.

“I love my current job,” Altman he saidto tweets.

“You make a lot of money, don’t you?” Kennedy asked him.

“No, I’m fully paid for health insurance. I have no equity in OpenAI,” Altman assured him.

“You need a lawyer,” Kennedy replied.

Now Altman has dozens of lawyers, who watched their client being questioned, sworn in in federal court in California on Tuesday. He explores the same issue as Kennedy – is Altman qualified to control the most advanced forms of AI?

“You didn’t disclose to the United States Senate that you have an interest in OpenAI through the Y Combinator fund segment, did you?” accused Steve Molo, a lawyer fighting Elon Musk to shut down the profitable OpenAI business.

Altman admitted that he had financial access to OpenAI through his LP position in the Y Combinator fund. “I didn’t mention it in the testimony, but, I think it’s pretty clear what it means to be the owner of a lot of money,” Altman said.

“You thought Senator Kennedy was a leading investor when he asked you that question?” He answered hello.

Altman’s decision to admit that he was unfair when he could have just dropped the question was interesting. That’s technically true, but Altman — who emphasized his expertise in investing in early stage startups — got his financial exposure to OpenAI through Y Combinator, and through other AI companies working with OpenAI.

Altman’s credibility was at stake Tuesday, especially in the eyes of prosecutors. OpenAI’s attorneys asserted that little had been done to advance Musk’s case, accusing their colleagues of manslaughter. But the jury and Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers are testing Altman’s credibility as a key figure in the case they are investigating.

Molo waded through the ranks of people who accused Altman of lying or misleading them — including allegations sworn to in court by former OpenAI board members Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley, Elon Musk, and OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever. He also brought the latest New Yorker article explaining his integrity.

The “blip” — when the OpenAI board briefly fired Altman and removed OpenAI President Greg Brockman as board chairman for failing to speak up — has been the subject of much discussion in the case. Board members Toner and McCauley testified that Altman misled them, with McCauley referring to a “bad habit of lying.”

“I doubt that was the reason” he shot him, Altman said. When asked again to acknowledge the group’s claim that they were not involved, Altman replied, “They asked me to come back the next morning.”

The focus on his shooting doesn’t just cast doubt on Altman’s credibility. One key question in the trial is whether the OpenAI model serves its purpose, especially if the non-profit organization can control the for-profit sector. From the perspective of Musk’s lawyers, the 2023 share provides evidence that Altman’s influence over the company exceeded that of the board of directors.

Witnesses brought by OpenAI and Microsoft have insisted that the non-profit organization controls the profits. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella called Altman’s shooting “the city of games.”

Bret Taylor, who joined the OpenAI board as chair after hiring Altman, said that he had not found anything that led to his termination and that Altman “has been very direct with me.” Dr. Zico Kolter, a member of the OpenAI organization focusing on AI security, said that no one has interfered with the project since it started in 2024.

But Taylor made it clear that the decision to re-hire Altman in 2023 was because his departure would have effectively eliminated OpenAI as a running problem, with many of his colleagues wanting to follow him out. Now, when judges and judges evaluate whether the current actions are in line with the purpose of the organization, they will wonder if the organization can fire or punish their CEO.

When asked if he would resign as CEO, Altman said he had no such plans. When asked if he could be trusted, he replied, “I believe that I am an honest and trustworthy businessman.”